LOS ANGELES — Considering just how different this season has been, the similarities are impossible to ignore.

Just about the only difference between the Canadiens’ swing through California this season and last year’s is the time of year. Just about everything else is basically the same, with the underlying theme being the Canadiens need to thrive in a state in which they almost always underperform in order to keep their season alive.

The Canadiens landed in Los Angeles on Sunday holding on to a playoff spot with their fingernails. Over their last five trips to California, the Canadiens have won two out of the 15 games they played against the L.A. Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks combined, and both of those wins came in a shootout. They haven’t won in San Jose since 1999, for crying out loud, losing 11 straight at the Shark Tank.

Last season, the Canadiens arrived in California in October with a 1-3-1 record and lost all three games by a...